A faith group going by the name Singularism recently scored a legal win under Utah’s religious freedom law.

That is, the City of Provo (Utah) and Utah County recently raided the group’s location, and seized their sacramental psilocybin mushrooms

So the group’s founder – Lee Jensen – filed a lawsuit alleging that authorities “knowingly and recklessly proceeded in defiance of the protections afforded to sincere religious believers under the U.S. Constitution” when police raided Singularism’s meeting house and seized “sacramental psilocybin mushrooms”.

Two days later, Provo police sent a letter to the group’s landlord, calling Singularism a “drug-distributing nuisance” and threatening civil abatement unless the group was evicted.

Mr. Jensen then filed a legal challenge in State court arguing that the group should be granted an exemption from Utah’s drug laws based on religious freedom. State officials rejected this, claiming Singularism wasn’t a legitimate religion, and asserted that the government had a compelling interest to stop the group from distributing illegal substances.

The case then moved to federal court, where U.S. District Judge Jill Parrish issued a temporary restraining order, ordering the return of the seized entheogens.

Then just five days later, Jensen was hit again with criminal charges, including possession of psilocybin with intent to distribute, possession of THC, and drug paraphernalia.

Judge Parrish was clearly not happy with this, and found that the police acted in “bad faith”. She then granted an injunction ordering police to allow Singularism to perform its religious ceremonies while the courts continues its work on the case, and to return the entheogens within 14 days.

“The irreparable injury to Plaintiffs is not merely theoretical. Based on the record in this case, the court notes once again its finding that the prosecution was brought in bad faith as part of a larger effort to harass Plaintiffs for their entheogenic religious practices and in hopes of giving the government a second opportunity to litigate the free-exercise issues presented squarely in this case.”

Though Jensen and Singularism received a temporary win, the legal battle is far from over, and he expressed concern over the growing legal costs.

So the group started a fundraiser, and are asking for community support for their legal defense:

If you feel inclined to help their legal defense, you’re welcome to do so right here.

Sources:

• New faith group that uses ‘psychedelic mushrooms’ lands legal win under religious freedom law”
• KSL TV 5: “Utah judge denies motion to dismiss lawsuit over religious psychedelic mushroom use”
• KSL News Radio: “Provo police ordered by federal judge to return psychedelic mushrooms to Provo-based religious group”
• U.S. District Court for the District of Utah: Jensen v Utah County